Kurapika's abilities had some subtle differences compared to how they appeared in the manga, with the most significant variations manifesting in his middle and pinky fingers. His abilities were no longer exclusively targeted at the Phantom Troupe. Instead, they leaned more toward a supportive role. This change was largely due to the presence of Luo Ning, another member of the Kurta Clan, which meant Kurapika no longer had to shoulder the entire burden of revenge alone.
As for Kurapika's Specialist ability, it remained unchanged. In his Scarlet Eyes state, he could utilize all six Nen categories at one hundred percent efficiency, though he still primarily relied on Enhancement.
By now, his battle had already concluded, while Neon Nostrade, not far away, was entering the final stages of her own. Although Neon didn't know her opponent's name, that didn't stop her from performing a fortune-telling for them.
Nen suddenly wrapped around her left hand, and a Nen beast—resembling a cute, glutinous rice ball with black wings—was born out of thin air. Driven by the Nen beast, the fountain pen in her hand wrote quickly in the air, forming bright red words made of Nen.
"The bustling street beneath the moonlight shall become your grave."
A smile played on Neon's lips. She didn't even intend to maintain her speed to close in on Slug. Instead, she took a slight step back and watched Slug quietly.
Slug also saw those abrupt words made of Nen. He didn't understand what she meant, but an ominous feeling inexplicably surged in his heart.
Neon's gaze shifted, landing on a heavy truck that had been blasting its horn earlier. It was unclear exactly what had happened with the truck, but as the driver saw he was about to collide with a sedan in front, he slammed the steering wheel. The tires screeched against the pavement, and the heavy truck flipped on its side.
The direction it slid was exactly where Slug was standing.
Slug also heard the ear-piercing sound. Turning his head, he saw the overturned truck hurtling toward him. His pupils shrank, and he moved to dodge the impact.
But at that very moment, the ground suddenly cracked open—likely due to the small volcano that had erupted nearby—and Slug's forward step landed perfectly into that fissure. His foot was jammed for a split second.
In that heartbeat of a delay, just as he flared his Nen to wrench his foot free, the truck slammed into him.
Neon's hair fluttered in the wind. She didn't even lift a hand, merely watching as Slug was swept away by the heavy truck.
"You should have been able to see those words, yet you stayed on the street. Do you look down on my curse?" Neon walked slowly toward Slug, who was lying on the ground coughing up blood, though not yet dead.
If he had retreated into a shop on either side of the street the moment he saw those blood-red words, he might have changed his fate of death. After all, the prophetic poem clearly stated that the street would be his grave. By leaving the street, Slug naturally could have broken free from the destiny leading to death.
Unfortunately, he didn't understand.
"Luo Ning once said that my fortune-telling poems are a type of curse, but I actually think being a curse is quite nice," Neon said, a smile appearing on her face.
Lovely Ghostwriter could only write down fortunes. But what she had actively used was not Lovely Ghostwriter, but rather Demon's Ghostwriter. This was why the writing implement had changed from a mechanical pencil in her right hand to a fountain pen in her left. The words floating in the air were a dangerous crimson, and after Slug was struck, the text began to ripple with traces like flowing blood.
She was a Specialist. She didn't want to rely solely on Enhancement-type abilities for combat as Luo Ning had suggested, so Neon had taken the initiative to develop her own Specialist Nen. She certainly didn't want to become some flat-chested brat.
Through her relentless efforts, her right hand remained dedicated to Lovely Ghostwriter, though it had evolved from predicting a month's events to providing short-term fortunes for a single day. Neon couldn't understand the content of the fortunes at all—no matter whose they were, she couldn't read them; she only knew they consisted of a single sentence or several poems.
Her left hand, however, held the Demon's Ghostwriter. It could also write words, but they were a curse placed upon a target. This curse could only last for three minutes, and as long as the target could identify the way out within the curse, they could actively avoid its effects. But if the curse was ignored, misfortune would descend upon them!
Just like Slug now.
Crushed by the heavy truck, he was now gasping for his final breaths, but Neon still had no intention of letting him go. She pulled a dagger from her waist. Under Slug's unwilling gaze, full of confusion over what had happened, the dagger pierced his head.
However, Slug's brain still didn't catch Neon's eye. He was a complete failure, possessing not even a shred of value as a collection piece in Neon's eyes. Pure trash, garbage, scum.
Neon's gaze couldn't help but shift from Slug to Bat, who was descending from the sky, and then to Worm, whom Luo Ning had hammered into the ground. Both of them had non-human features. Worm had a hideously long head that was far out of proportion to a normal human's, and Bat, though human, possessed a pair of wings that allowed him to fly. These were excellent materials for her collection.
'I hope Luo Ning hasn't ruined them.'
Seeing the holes in Bat's wings, Neon felt as if her heart was bleeding. "Stop! The wings! Don't ruin my wings!"
Luo Ning had no intention of leaving Bat alive, even if the latter had followed his command to descend. He hadn't expected Neon to start screaming anxiously before he had even made a move.
'Give you the wings?'
'That damn collecting habit must be acting up again.'
Though that was what Luo Ning thought, he didn't throw all the stones he held. He aimed a single stone at Bat's head and fired. The Nen on Bat's head was like wet paper; it was instantly pierced by the stone.
"So they really aren't conjured," Luo Ning muttered to himself as he watched Neon rush over frantically. "I thought he might have trained in Conjuration and Emission—two opposing categories—which would explain why he was so weak. It seems I gave him too much credit."
At that moment, Kurapika walked over as well. "These people feel a bit weak. Is this really the extent of the Ten Community Leaders' trump cards?" Kurapika asked, sounding somewhat incredulous.
"They possess Nen, but they lack a systematic understanding of it. This is the norm for Nen users outside the Hunter Association," Luo Ning shrugged.
The Association treated Nen as a top-secret matter, and the V5 nations agreed with this policy. Consequently, in this world, those who naturally awaken Nen without a teacher often view this power simply as a special superpower. History has recorded some Nen users, but they weren't called that; they were known as supermen, rulers, geniuses, immortals, psychics, and so on.
Without systematic study, ability users rely on their own trial and error. This easily leads to cases like Kastro, who was clearly an Enhancer yet chose to train in Conjuration—a category that didn't suit him at all. It was a massive waste of talent.
Furthermore, their mastery of basic Nen applications is a mess. They only simply understand that wrapping themselves in energy can increase their offense and defense, but that is far from enough when fighting a true master. Most of the Shadow Beasts are this type of existence.
In Luo Ning's view, aside from those like Owl who possess highly valuable abilities, the rest of the Shadow Beasts were merely decent whetstones to test the results of Kurapika and Neon's training.
Overall, Luo Ning was satisfied with the performance of Kurapika and Neon.
"Take him with us. We're leaving."
The sound of sirens approached from the distance. Luo Ning leaped several times, flipping directly onto a nearby tall building. Kurapika and Neon followed close behind; though they weren't as graceful as Luo Ning, they each had their own ways of moving.
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